Detailing the movements and mission of people of Zion Hill settlement established in 1841, this little book is the record of the efforts of the first free white settlers to win subsistence from the soil of Queensland by their own labour.

The missionary station at Zion's Hill, Nundah, set an example by righteous living, by industry and by the preservation of ideals in the face of discouragement; an example of immeasurable value to the nascent colony. The missionaries were natives of Germany, yet they taught in the English language and earnestly promoted the respect for the laws of their country of adoption. Its members became, upon their dispersal and upon the arrival of numerous settlers of British stock, a sort of industrial core for the settlement, and essential constituent, not a group apart. Their contemporaries in the development of what is now Queensland, the pastoral pioneers, were, in the days of German Station, rather explorers and adventurers than founders of a people. Their colourful history, their remarkable achievements, the tremendous influence on their ventures upon the economy of Queensland and their personalities upon its history, are in now way belittled by that statement. The tasks of the two groups were different. The success of each was indispensable to the well-being of the colony.

This ebook is a the same as the CD version from Archive Digital Books Australasia which is available from Gould Genealogy & other retailers. This CD contains high quality scanned images of the whole original volume, and has been bookmarked for easy navigation. Pages can be searched, browsed, enlarged and printed out if required.